On May 19, the Canyon Crest Academy Inventions Club and SPARK Chemistry Demonstration Club held its third annual showcase for finalists in the San Diego Elementary School Inventions Contest. The elementary school students in the competition had ingenuity and were able to show their inventions to peers. The showcase also featured chemistry demonstrations ranging from hydrophobic sand to a Van de Graaff generator.

The top two students in three categories (creativity, thoroughness and impact), as well as a top winner in the overall initiative category, were recognized with gift certificates and science kits. The winning inventions, chosen by students and teachers at Canyon Crest Academy, were as follows: “The Safe Suit,” by Apaara Chawla; “Magic Mirror,” by Siddhi Vilas Shukla; and “The Sleeping Pack,” by Lukas Nepomuceno and Joshua Charat-Collins. The second place inventions were: “Cat Napper,”by Troy Wei and Adam Atwood; “Easy Air,” by Andrew Kuang; and “Smart Pen,” by Rajdeep Singh. “The Posture Aiding Chair,” by Lexi Black, received the Initiative Award for excellence across all categories.

The contest was organized by high school students at CCA, led by Julie Vaughn and Julia Wisnia, with sponsorship and guidance from Kaveh Shakeri of CCA. The goals of the clubs are to stimulate interest and creativity in STEM-related topics both in the local area as well as other communities around the county.